"It gives one chills," says Colombian President Gustavo Petro of new high-security prison built by his El Salvador counterpart Nayib Bukele in "war against gangs."
President Nayib Bukele, who has declared a "war" on gangs, claims Center for the Confinement of Terrorism is largest mega-prison in Americas.
Authorities arrested Nercy Montano, the mayor of Soyapango city, which is currently besieged by the military as part of the Salvadoran president's war against criminal gangs.
Two NGOs document arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment of detainees over the last nine months, during which President Nayib Bukele's government has rounded up over 59,000 suspected gang members.
Authorities had already removed gang graffiti in neighbourhoods throughout the Central American country, but breaking up gang members' tombstones is a new step and comes as some residents visited cemeteries for Day of the Dead.
The wave of detentions is unprecedented in the country of 6.5 million people, which has suffered decades of violent crime driven by powerful gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.
Authorities in Central American country have been rounding up suspected gang members since March, following the killing of 87 people in gang-related violence.
Wave of detentions is unprecedented in the Central American country that has suffered decades of violent crime driven by powerful gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18.
President Nayib Bukele says "war against gangs" will continue, a month after he invoked emergency powers to suspend some constitutional rights to crackdown on gangs engaged in drug trafficking and extortion.
The reform to the penal code applies to those who "reproduce and transmit messages or communications originating or allegedly originating from" the criminal groups.
El Salvadoran lawmakers approve a state of emergency after top gang leaders were arrested over a wave of recent bloodshed, the president of the country's Legislative Assembly said.
From El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender to a $69 million NFT being sold, 2021 was a singular year for the industry.
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